Because I Am Happy Here
by ALLY146
Summary: Will you go out with me, four months from this saturday?  A simple question asked long ago leads to a night that could change everything. [Jiley. T for mild language.]
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I've really missed writing and getting reviews, so I thought it was about time I write another story. This chapter's going to be pretty short and not too terribly exciting because it's setting up for the rest of the story. This was originally going to be a few shot but I realized that I had to make it a multi-chapter story to do it justice. So if the first few chapters seem a little choppy, that's why.

For the sake of timing with this story, everything in the Jake episodes until People Who Use People still happened, but it all happened in their sophomore instead of eighth grade. So now, it's summer right before junior year instead of what would normally be summer before ninth grade. Sorry if that's confusing, but I think in the end the story will go better if they're older.

Anyway, on to the story. Reviews, as always, are greatly appreciated. )

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Because I Am Happy Here

Chapter One.

"Happy, happy Hannah Day, it's going to be great. Happy, happy Hannah Day, wake up or … you'll be late!"

Yes, **this** is what I got to wake up to this morning. Another one of my dad's oh so brilliant songs. I groaned and rolled onto my stomach, lifting up my pillow and placing it over my head in hopes that it would drown out the sound of my annoying father.

"Happy, happy Hannah day, lots of CDs have already been sold. Happy, happy Hannah day, your breakfast is getting cold!"

Did I really think the simple act of hiding behind a pillow would make him go away? I blame my not knowing better on my severe lack of sleep. That's what I get for staying up until four watching the Scrubs marathon.

Wait a minute, what did he just say about CDs? And do I smell pancakes? I rolled back over and sat up, the smell of dad's famous breakfast that filled my nostrils slowly but surely pulling me out of sleep.

"What were you saying about CDs?" I asked as Dad set the tray full of food down on my lap.

"Are you seriously so tired you don't remember what today is?" He asked, chuckling.

I sat there for a second, chewing a piece of bacon and thinking. CDs.. CDs.. CDs?

Suddenly it was as if all of the leftover sleep flew out of my body. I choked down what was left of that last bite of bacon and shrieked. My dad's hands immediately covered his ears, a look of pure pain covering his face. About two seconds later Jackson burst into my room. His hair was sticking out in random places and half of his face was clean shaven, the other half still smothered with shaving cream. He was clenching his twelve year old Spiderman baseball bat from when he played t-ball firmly in his hands, ready to attack.

"What's going on?!" he asked, breathing heavily and spinning around, frantically searching for danger.

"MY NEW CD'S OUT!" I yelled. I should have known, I only get breakfast in bed on a new CD release day.

Jackson released his grip on the bat and let it fall down next to his side. He flashed me a 'are you kidding me?!' look before storming out of my room, back towards his bathroom.

"I have to go get ready!" I cried, setting aside my breakfast tray and jumping up from the bed.

"Ready for what?" my dad asked, looking slightly confused.

"DAD! I told you I'm hanging out with Lilly and Oliver today, you know to celebrate the CD being out and Oliver's new car?" I swear, he forgets everything.

"Oh yeah.." he said, remembering. "Well, there's a box of new CDs downstairs. I'm taking your brother over to USC to do some last minute registration stuff. We're just going to spend the night out there, so we probably won't be back until tomorrow afternoon. Just don't forget to bring a key with you and lock up when you get home, okay darlin'?"

"Alright dad. Thanks for breakfast!" I gave him a quick hug and ran off towards my bathroom to get ready for the day.

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP.

"I'M COMING!" I yelled, quickly shoveling the makeup sprawled across my vanity back into my purse. I slung my purse over my shoulder and ran back into my bedroom, leaping over my bed like it was a track hurdle and digging through a pile of discarded clothes in search of my black ballet flats.

BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP.

I groaned and opened the nearby window.

"CHILL OLIVER," I shouted out the window, hoping my voice would carry around the corner of my house and down to the driveway. "I'M LOOKING FOR MY SHOES!"

Oliver responded by laying on the horn once again.

"Yes!" I cried, finally retrieving my shoes from the black hole I like to call my bedroom floor. I ran down the stairs and grabbed a couple new CDs out of the box on the kitchen counter before bolting towards the front door, not even bothering to slip my shoes on my feet first. The sooner I got outside, the sooner Oliver and his horn would shut up. I ran out the front door, locking it behind me, and sprinted towards the driveway. I skidded to a stop when I saw the car that was sitting in it.

A brand new, perfectly waxed, mint condition, black mustang – aka Oliver's dream car that he never in a million years thought he'd actually get.

I looked around, making sure I hadn't hurried myself all the way into someone else's driveway. But sure enough, there was Lilly waving frantically at me, grinning like an idiot. Oliver was leaning up against the car, looking particularly smug. I don't blame him, I'd probably look the same way if I had a set of new mustang keys in my hand.

"Oliver!" I gushed, running up to take a closer look at the car. "This car is amazing. It's so.. so.."

"Tough, rugged, badass?" He finished for me, smirking.

"It's so cute!" I cried, making Oliver's smug look immediately fade and sending Lilly into a fit a giggles.

"Cute?" Oliver asked, raising his eyebrows at me and trying to ignore Lilly practically suffocating from her laughter. "This car is not _cute_. It's strong, it's fast, its-"

"Whatever Oliver," I interrupted, happy to have put a damper on his mustang created ego. "I think it's cute." I grinned and walked to the passenger side of the car, greeting Lilly with a quick hug and climbing in the backseat. Oliver sighed and got in the car, accidently letting a smirk slip through his fake angry face.

"Guess what I have?" I teased, once we had been on the road for a few minutes.

"What?" Lilly asked, excitedly. Oliver glanced back at me in the rearview mirror. I reached in my purse and pulled out the new Hannah CD. Lilly studied it for a second, her eyes growing wide with realization when she recognized what it was. She let out one of her trademark squeals and lunged towards the CD, grabbing it out of my hand. She opened it up and started examining the contents, letting out various shrieks and squeals when she saw something exciting. Finally, when Lilly let out a particularly loud shriek, Oliver decided he'd had enough. He slammed on the breaks, sending me and Lilly flying forward.

"WHAT THE HELL OLIVER?!" Lilly yelled once she regained herself.

"Give me the CD", he calmly commanded, holding out his hand. Lilly obeyed, flashing me a 'WTF?' look. I shrugged, looking over at Oliver and waiting for his next move. He put the CD in his CD player and pushed play. Once the first song started he handed the case back to Lilly and began driving again, satisfied.

"Oliver.." I said, after exchanging confused glances with Lilly. "What was that?"

"I wanted to hear the CD", he replied simply. "Lilly squealing isn't exactly my choice of musical entertainment."

"You liked it", Lilly replied simply.

I laughed. My friends are so weird.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I decided that chapter one was way too much of a random prologue that I had to go ahead and upload the second chapter early than I originally planned. For anyone that was confused, don't worry --- the story really starts here.

But thanks to the people that have reviewed so far, I really appreciate it. Keep them coming!

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Because I Am Happy Here

Chapter Two.

"So Mwiley", Lilly mumbled, her mouth full of a particularly large spoonful of ice cream. The three of us were sitting in the mall food court, taking a break from shopping and walking around to get some ice cream. Oliver and I had finished ours a while ago, but Lilly was notorious for being a slow eater. She swallowed before continuing. "You look really cute today. Is that new?"

I looked down at my outfit. I was wearing a spaghetti strap dress with a v neckline. It was azure blue with small black and white polka dots randomly scattered about. It was pretty short, so I had to wear black leggings underneath to feel comfortable in it. I've had it for a little while, but I haven't worn it yet. There's just something about this dress. It was like I needed to save it for a special day. I don't really know what's special about today, but when I saw this dress hanging in my closet this morning, it just felt.. right.

"Nah", I replied. "I've had it for awhile. I just never got around to wearing it." I decided to leave the whole 'special day' thing out of it. Lilly and Oliver would have teased me relentlessly.

"Well, it's really cute", Lilly said digging up another spoonful out of her bowl of her ice cream. "I'm borrowing it."

I laughed. "Okay." Lately Lilly had branched out and started to wear more girly clothes, but she hasn't strayed completely from her normal skater girl ways. There will always be a little bit of that Lilly inside, no matter how girly she decides to dress.

"Done!" Lilly announced, finally finishing off the last bit of ice cream.

"Finally!" Oliver said, immediately standing. Lilly pulled back her hand to whack him on the shoulder.

"Where should we go now?" I asked, intercepting Lilly's hand and changing the subject.

"I know!" Lily cried, taking back her arm and flashing Oliver a quick 'you're lucky Miley was here to stop me' look. "Let's go to Barnes and Noble and see how many Hannah CDs have sold!" I took a sip of my coke and exchanged an unsure glance with Oliver.

"Oh, come on!" Lilly said, noticing our looks. After we hesitated a little longer Lilly grabbed our hands and pulled us away from the table, making up our minds for us.

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

"Oh my god!" Lilly said breathlessly.

"Damn", Oliver added, just as surprised.

I couldn't even talk. A long line of people starting at the checkout counter wound around the whole front half of the store. I don't even know how many people there were, but pretty much every person was holding the new Hannah CD. The initial shock wore off of both me and Lilly at pretty much the same time. We turned to each other and immediately started happy dancing. Oliver shook his head and smiled. His smile faded when he looked over at the line of people.

"Guys", he said, trying to get our attention. "Hey.. guys." We were completely oblivious. Hey, it's hard to interrupt a good happy dance. "GUYS!" he yelled, making us stop abruptly.

"What?" Lilly snapped. Oliver pointed over towards the checkout counter. At the opposite end of his point, a good bit of the still growing line was giving us extremely weird looks. I chuckled, slightly embarrassed and immediately did the best thing I could think of. I grabbed Lilly and Oliver's hands and ran over to the DVD section, out of sight.

Once we were hidden, we collapsed into a pile on the floor, all three of us laughing uncontrollably. It was a good thing all of the employees were working the cash registers. We probably would have gotten kicked out.

A few minutes later, the ice cream sugar high wore off and we managed to calm ourselves down enough to stand up. We separated a little, each going to look at different movie genres. Oliver went over to check out the action movies, Lilly looked at comedy, and I went over to the old discount movies. Those were always my favorite.

I browsed the old DVDs sipping my drink and smiling with the 'blast from the past' feeling I got with each DVD cover. The movies ranged from fairy tale cartoons I watched when I was little to the comedies that are so cheesy they're classic. They were all the kind of movies you used to love and then they just slipped of the radar.

Right at the end of the end of the section, in the bottom corner, a particular movie popped out. I don't really know why it jumped out at me. It was an animated princess musical movie, and I remember dancing and singing along with it in my living room back in Tennessee. But other than that, it wasn't anything special.

I took a big sip of my now partially watered down coke and went to put the princess movie back on the shelf. Just as I was about to set the DVD down, the movie behind it caught my eye. I reached for it, squinting as I brought it up to my face, trying to recognize what it was. Once realization hit, my eyes grew to the size of the big cookie I had eaten earlier with Lilly and Oliver. I took in a breath of air, forgetting my mouth was full of water/coke. The drink went down the wrong way, causing me to cough violently. Oliver and Lilly ran over and repeatedly hit my back, trying to clear my trachea of the out of place liquid.

Once my coughing ceased, I sat down right up against the rack of DVDs, staring intensely at the one I was still clutching in my hands.

"Miley…" Lilly said, exchanging confused glances with Oliver.

"Huh?" I said, slightly dazed. My eyes still didn't leave the DVD cover.

"Dude Miley," Oliver said, looking at me like I was insane. "You almost choked to death right here in the DVD section of Barnes and Noble."

"Seriously Miley", Lilly continued. "Aren't you a little freaked?"

"Wow.." I said, mystified. I didn't even hear Lilly and Oliver anymore. I traced my finger along the face of the boy pictured on the DVD cover. I knew him well. At least I used to.

Has there ever been one person in your life that you know you could be great with, if everything worked out differently? If just the time, or the place, or the situation was different, something magical could happen. It's like you know something amazing is possible, but it's just out of your reach.

This boy was that for me. The infamous Jake Ryan.

At the end of sophomore year, Jake came to my school and turned it upside down. Jake Ryan is a huge star, the majority of his fame due his starring role on the hit show Zombie High. Virtually everyone at my school is addicted to that show, so it was a huge deal when Jake enrolled at Seaview High. Every boy in school wanted to be Jake's best friend and every girl wanted to be his girlfriend.

Every girl except me. I saw Jake as nothing more than an egotistical celebrity. He knew he was hot, he knew he was famous, and he knew everyone else knew it too. If I wasn't Hannah Montana, I probably would have been amazed by him just like everyone else. Even Lilly and Oliver fell victim to Jake's charm. Being Hannah Montana let me see past the celebrity to the person Jake really was. An arrogant, cocky, big headed, jerk.

Or so I thought. My Hannah secret initially made me see Jake as a jerk, but it also let me see the person behind that big conceited mess. It took Hannah Montana being a guest star on Zombie High to get it. Talking to Jake in my dressing room in between scenes showed me that he was just a big celebrity who acted cocky because that was the only way he knew how to act. Jake was really a regular person who just so happened to grace the covers of all of the major tabloids.

Just like me.

My Hannah secret was really what brought me and Jake together. Being a celebrity made me different than all of the other giddy girls at my school, which is what attracted Jake to me. And talking to Jake on the set of Zombie High was what made me really like him. So in some ways, it was like we were perfect for each other.

Sounds good, right? I think it would have been. But you remember what I said before, right? About something good being just out of reach? Jake was that something good. After every obstacle that came in our way, (usually Jake having another girlfriend or me being stubborn and denying the crazy big crush I had on him), we finally admitted our feelings for each other in the form of a heated argument leading to a simple kiss. But of course, knowing my luck, Jake had just gotten a huge movie deal. A movie deal that would put him in Romania for four long months.

So that was it. That was the situation that ended the almost relationship between me and Jake Ryan.

It was weird seeing Jake's face again, even though it was a much younger version of the Jake I knew, and Jake's face was partially obstructed by his Teen Bigfoot costume. You would think I would see him all the time, on TV or in the tabloids. But when Jake went to Romania, he went completely off the radar. It was to be expected. Even when I hated Jake, I knew he was dedicated to his work.

How long had it been now, since I last saw Jake? I quickly calculated in my head. About four months. Wow.

As I stared at the familiar face on the movie cover, I began wondering where Jake was. What was he up to? Did he look different? Did he act different? And mostly, did he ever think of me? When he had a break from filming, or as he went to sleep at night, was I one of the things that came to his mind?

I sure hope so.

I finally snapped out of the little Jake themed daze I was in and looked up. Lilly and Oliver were both kneeling down next to me, giving me some of the most concerned faces I had ever seen.

"What?" I asked, looking back and forth at my two best friends.

"Hello?" Oliver said.

"You've been sitting there staring at that movie for like, ten minutes." Lilly added. "What were you thinking about this whole time?"

I looked down at Jake's picture and then back up at my friends.

"Nothing", I said with a smile.

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

"…I could fix the flat on your car, I might even be a rock staaar."

Lilly and Oliver were jamming out to the new Hannah CD in the front seat. We were on the way home from the mall, and normally I'd be singing right along with them. My mind just wasn't in it. So I sat in silence, tracing the stitching on the seat and thinking.

I felt the car pull over so I looked up, expecting to see my house outside the window.

"What are we doing?" I asked, seeing the gas station that was about two minutes away from my house. "It's almost five. You two are going to be late." Oliver and Lilly were dropping me off a little earlier than usual. Their families have been friends as long as Lilly and Oliver have, and tonight was their monthly Oken/Truscott dinner night.

Oliver and Lilly turned around in their seats so they could get a good look at me.

"We can be late Miles", Oliver said. "What's going on with you?"

"Nothing.." I said, looking down at my hands. I really wasn't in a chatty mood.

"Miley", Lilly said slightly sternly. "We know you way better than that. And if **you** aren't jamming out, something's wrong. So, spill."

I smiled. They knew me too well.

"Okay", I said looking up at them. "It's Jake." They both smirked, not surprised at all.

"It's not like I don't think about Jake on a pretty regular basis, because I do", I continued. "But I saw him everywhere today. Seriously, everywhere. First, I saw Teen Bigfoot at Barnes and Noble. Yeah, that's what got me in that weird daze for like ten minutes after my coke almost killed me." Lilly and Oliver laughed and nodded, getting it now. "And then, I see that commercial on that wall of TV's for Jake's old diaper company. **And then**", I threw my hands up in the air, frustrated, "as if all that wasn't enough, there was that HUGE poster of Jake for the upcoming Zombie High season in the food court as we left." I sighed. "I mean seriously, why am I being reminded of him so much today? What does it mean?"

Lilly sighed too. "I don't know Miley", she said. Oliver shrugged in agreement.

"Could it be some kind of sign?" I asked, a little worried.

"Maybe.." Lilly said. "But whatever it is, I'm sure everything will be fine."

"Yeah Miles", Oliver added. "Just try not to think about it. It's probably just some kind of twisted coincidence."

I smiled. "Thanks guys."

"So can I drive now?" Oliver asked, reaching to put the car back in gear. "Are you going to be fun?"

"Yes, go", I said, laughing. "Turn it to number one."

Lilly followed my command as Oliver shifted into drive and turned out of the gas station parking lot.

"We Got the Party", Lilly said, smiling as she recognized the intro. "Nice choice Miles."

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

After listening to We Got the Party about two and a half times I had completely forgotten about Jake.

Well, not completely, but I came pretty much as close as possible.

Oliver dangerously screeched to a stop in front of my house. He's going to total this car within a matter of months, I'm sure. Lilly quickly jumped out of the car, setting down the seat so I could climb out.

"GO, GO, GO!" Oliver yelled, trying to hurry me along. They were so late.

"Oliver!" I yelled back, struggling to get over the seat and out of the car. "I'm in a dress!" About two seconds after I finally made it out of the car, Lilly jumped back into the passenger seat and they sped off.

"Bye Miley, I love you!" Lilly yelled out the window, waving and grinning.

"Love you!" Oliver yelled, waving at me out the sun roof.

"Bye guys, I love you!" I yelled after them, laughing.

I started walking up my driveway, digging around in my purse for my house keys.

"Anywhere we are, anywhere we go everybody kno-ows. We got the party with us." I sang, probably louder than I should. That song is now officially stuck in my head.

"Anywhere we are, anywhere we go everybody kno-ows. We got the party with us." I continued, my voice gaining momentum. I was getting pretty into it. But where were my flipping keys?

"We got the party, we got the party, we got the party, we got the party with us." Even with my head practically inside my purse I could tell I was about to make it to the front porch. Wait! I see a glimmer of silver. Perfect timing, I was about four steps away from my front porch and I had one line left in my song.

"We got the party with us!" I finished strongly, just as I pulled my keys out of my purse. I looked up and immediately froze.

Jake Ryan was standing on my front porch.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Nine reviews in one chapter? You guys are seriously awesome. All of those reviews made me super happy, so thanks a lot. Basically this story is going to take place over the period of one night, and into the next day. You'll see what I mean as the story continues, I just didn't want anyone to get confused.

Anyway, on to the chapter. Keep up those reviews, the more reviews… the faster the update. :)

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Because I Am Happy Here

Chapter Three.

I stood motionless at the foot of the stairs leading to the front door of my house. The keys I had searched for relentlessly slipped out of my hand and collided with the solid concrete.

Jake Ryan, the boy that's been commanding my thoughts all day long, the boy I could have possibly fallen in love with, is here. It's been four months since I last saw him, and now here he is, less than two feet away from me, flashing me the most adorable smile I've ever seen.

We both stood there for a moment, just taking each other in. After what felt like forever, words finally managed to work their way out of my mouth.

"Jake?" I asked, dumbfounded. Four months, and that's all I could say? I mentally hit myself. But hey, at least I said something.

"Hi Miley, nice song", he said, his smile growing bigger and getting even more adorable, if that was even possible.

"Wh-" I stuttered, choosing to ignore his comment about the song so I wouldn't die of embarrassment. "What.. what are-" This has got to be the worst possible time for me to not be able to properly form words.

"What am I doing here?" Jake finished for me.

I nodded, smiling slightly, shock still clearly visible on my face.

"Well if I remember correctly, right before I left for Romania I asked you on a date 'four months from this Saturday'", he said, using air quotes to quote himself from four months earlier. "And I'm not the type of guy to back out on a date, especially with you."

Especially with me. Oh dang, I think I just melted. I took a moment to think about it. He was right, this was that exact Saturday. Wow.

I raised my eyebrows at Jake and smiled, amazed he remembered. We hadn't really talked since he left, mostly because of the distance and him being really busy with the movie. We haven't even sent a simple email in months, and now he was here, standing right in front of me. This was going to take me a while to get used to.

But hey, I'm not complaining.

"Are you busy?" Jake asked, looking slightly anxious about what my answer would be. I smirked and shook my head.

"Good", Jake said, grinning. He walked down the steps and took my hand in his. As Jake led me to his car, I felt a rush of excitement. Part of the excitement was from my expectations for the night ahead, but most of it was caused by the simple fact that Jake was holding my hand.

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

I fiddled with the hem of my dress as Jake drove, not really knowing what else to do. The silence that filled the car was deafening, but neither of us knew how to change it.

I took this slightly awkward time to think. I still found it hard to believe that I was sitting in the passenger seat of Jake's car, on the way to a date he asked me on four months ago. Sure, I found the situation a little weird, but it was a good weird.

I decided to steal a glance at Jake, wanting to get a good look at him. I was a little too shocked earlier by the fact Jake was at my house to really see him. I turned my head ever so slightly, and slowly moved my eyes until they landed on his face.

Whoa. The person I saw before me was definitely the same Jake I had known months ago, but there were some obvious differences in his appearance. His face had become more chiseled; any trace of baby fat had left his face resulting in a stronger, more masculine jaw line. His hair had grown an inch or so, the ends flipping out adorably. I didn't think it was possible for Jake to look any better, but he definitely did.

It took Jake's head starting to turn in my direction to knock me out of the little dreamy daze I had fallen into. I quickly looked out the passenger side window, not wanting him to catch him looking at him. I immediately got that feeling, you know, the one you get when you can just tell someone's looking at you. I looked over at Jake, preparing to flash him my cutest smile.

When our eyes locked, all of that went out the window. My breath immediately caught in my throat. One look in Jake's enchanting green eyes brought back everything I felt about him before. It hit me like a tidal wave. One look, and it was as if Jake had never left.

Our gaze lingered for a few more seconds before we both managed to look away. Jake shifted his focus back on the road and I went back to playing with the hem of my dress. We were both grinning like idiots.

"You look beautiful Miley", Jake said, glancing over at me.

"Thanks", I said smiling, an ever so slight blush filling my cheeks. So this was why wearing my 'special dress' felt right today. "You do too."

Jake playfully raised his eyebrows at me. I cringed and brought my hand up to my face, realizing what I just said. "You know, in a.. handsome kind of way", I awkwardly corrected myself. Good job Miley, embarrassed yourself twice and it's only been twenty minutes.

"So Jake", I said, shrugging it off and finally feeling comfortable enough to start a conversation now that the initial silence barrier had been broken. "What are we doing?"

Jake laughed. "I was thinking we'd start with dinner and then just.. you know.."

"See where the night takes us?" I finished.

Jake glanced over at me and smiled. "Exactly."

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

After about ten minutes of driving we arrived at the restaurant. It was a cute little building; its solid wood exterior and twinkling outdoor lights gave it a serene beach hut vibe. It sat within a short distance of the beach, at the end of a row of a bunch of cute little shops. I made a mental note to come shopping here sometime with Lilly, surprised that we hadn't discovered it yet.

Jake pulled into a small alley way next to the restaurant and pulled around back. I was confused at first, but then I realized it was to avoid crazy fans. When I was alone with Jake it was easy to forget how big of a celebrity he was to the rest of the world.

Jake pulled into a space I assumed was typically used for employee parking and turned off the car. I grabbed my purse on the floorboard and went to open the door to find it was already being pulled open. I jumped slightly and smiled. Jake was holding my door open with one hand, the other outstretched towards me. Jake was such a gentleman, a rare quality in other boys our age. It was nice. I took Jake's hand, allowing him to help me out of the car and lead me over to the back entrance of the restaurant.

"Sorry about this whole sneaking around back thing", Jake said as we walked towards the door. "I wanted to try and keep tonight as normal as possible."

"That's okay Jake", I said honestly. "It's no trouble at all." Jake looked down at me and smiled as we reached the door. Jake knocked softly and we waited.

A few seconds later the door swung open revealing a plump middle aged woman with crazy curly red hair and a kind face.

"Jake!" she cried, her face lighting up. She pulled Jake into a strong hug and then released him, placing her arms on his shoulders and studying him at arm's length. "I feel like it's been ages! Look how big you've gotten!" Jake flashed me a cute, slightly embarrassed smirk, acknowledging the woman of my presence.

"And who is this beautiful girl?" she asked, releasing her hold on Jake and turning to me.

"I'm Miley", I said, holding out my hand.

"Anne", she replied shaking it. "It's so nice to meet you."

I grinned. "You too." I like this woman, whoever she is. She's sweet.

"So, is everything set up?" Jake asked Anne, nodding in the direction of the restaurant.

"Oh yes, of course honey. Follow me." Anne led us through the busy kitchen to a cute little table, away from the rest of the busy restaurant. I smiled as I looked around the little place. Soft lighting filled the room, much of it caused by soft candles that sat on each table. Jake pulled out a chair for me, displaying how much of a gentleman he was even more.

"So Jake, how's your mom?" Anne asked once we had taken a seat.

"She's doing good, happy to be home." Jake replied. Okay, so this Anne woman knows Jake's mom..

"I'll have to give her a call, so we can catch up." Anne said, handing us our menus.

"She'd like that." Jake said. Okay so I'm guessing Jake's mom and this woman are pretty good friends..? I decided to give up on solving the mystery of Anne's identity. I was getting nowhere.

"I'll send a waitress over ASAP, you two enjoy your meal." Anne smiled at us and started to turn in the direction of the kitchen. "Nice to meet you Miley!" she added, winking at Jake before she headed back towards the kitchen.

I smiled to myself and started looking over the menu.

"My aunt", Jake said. I looked up at him. "That woman, Anne, she's my aunt." Mystery solved. I smiled at him with realization. "She started this place with her husband Bill when I was little, and their family's owned it ever since. My uncle died a few years ago, so my family tries to help out whenever we can. She's a strong woman though, and she's managed to keep this place really successful."

"Wow", I said, touched that he brought me to his family's restaurant. "Well, I love her. She's so sweet."

Jake beamed and took my hand on the table. "I'm glad you like her."

We locked eyes for a moment and I felt myself beginning to get lost in Jake's eyes once again. I don't know how long that would have lasted if the waitress hadn't walked up.

"Well if it isn't Jake Ryan." We both looked up, Jake giving my hand a light squeeze before releasing it. The waitress was a young woman, probably early twenties. Her curly red hair was in two loose braids, and she had small diamond stud in her nose. "Come here squirt!" she said smirking, holding out her arms. Jake stood up and gave her a strong hug. They talked a little bit and then Jake turned to me.

"Miley, this is my cousin Addie. Addie, this is Miley."

"Well hello", Addie said, flashing Jake a quick smirk before extending a hand to me. I shook it, noticing the resemblance between her and Anne.

"Hey", I said with a smile. "Nice to meet you."

"You too", she said, returning the smile. Jake walked back over to his seat and sat down, raising his eyebrows at me and flashing an adorable grin.

"So, what can I get for you two?" Addie asked, taking a pen and pad of paper out of one of the many pockets in her apron.

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

"This is officially my new favorite restaurant", I gushed as we ate about twenty minutes later.

"For real?" Jake asked with a smile. "You like it that much?"

"Uh, yeah", I replied, as if Jake was crazy to think otherwise. "It's perfect."

"Well, I'm sorry we had to sit back in this random corner. I just thought we'd have a much better time if we weren't getting swarmed by crazy fans."

"I like it back here", I assured him. "It's nice." I reached across the table and took Jake's hand in mine, slightly surprised at myself. Normally I wouldn't be this comfortable with a guy so fast. Sure, me and Jake kissed before he left... but that was the beginning and end of our romantic relationship. But as I traced circles on the back of Jake's hand, it just felt right.

Unfortunately this nice little moment was interrupted by Jake's phone ringing. He reluctantly let go of my hand and reached into his pocket, withdrawing his buzzing phone.

"Damn", Jake said to himself, once he saw the name on the caller id. "My manager, Chuck. I should probably take this, if I missed one of his calls he'd probably hyperventilate or something." Jake stood and walked behind my chair. He placed a hand on my shoulder and leaned down, speaking softly into my ear. "I'll make it quick."

I grinned and took a sip of my water, tingles running frantically up and down my spine. It was refreshing, feeling like this again. Just then, Jake's aunt walked up, making me think he had asked her to check up on me on his way outside.

"How are you doing hun?" She asked, smiling warmly. "Can I get you anything else?"

"I'm fine, thanks", I replied. "I absolutely love your restaurant, it's adorable."

"Thank you dear", she replied, beaming. "It's really become a second home to us over the years, and it's always nice to have family in here. Especially since Jake always has such a hectic schedule."

"Yeah I know what you mean", I replied. I looked around at our secluded little table. "This is a nice little set up. Do you guys go through all of this trouble every time Jake brings a date here?"

Anne looked at me, a slightly surprised look visible in her eyes. "Honey, you're the first girl Jake's ever brought here."

I could feel my mouth drop open slightly, but I didn't even care. Out of all of the girls that have been in Jake's life before now, I'm the only one he's brought here? What does that mean? That I'm more important than all of them? The he sees me special enough to bring me here?

I shook it off, not wanting to read too much into it... not wanting to get my hopes up.

But right before Anne walked away, she smiled at me. There was a certain twinkle in her eye, and suddenly my hopes skyrocketed.

Jake's voice brought me back down to earth. "Sorry about that", he said as he sat down. "Where were we?"

Just as I opened my mouth to respond, a series of yell and shrieks interrupted.

"NO WAY!" a girl's voice rang out from the main section of the restaurant.

"Jake Ryan's back? He's **here**, in this actual restaurant?!" Another voice followed.

"IN THIS ACTUAL RESTAURANT!" Another girl shrieked.

Jake and I exchanged worried glances. I stood and crept over to the doorway that led to the rest of the restaurant. I looked around the corner, hoping the situation wasn't too out of control.

It was. A huge group of girls had congregated in the center of the entire restaurant, frantically looking around. They were all talking, wondering if **the** Jake Ryan was really here, where he was, etc. Even some of the older couples were looking around for Jake.

"_Well this sucks_", I thought to myself as I looked at the continually growing group of teenage girls. There were so many, I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of them weren't even eating at the restaurant. We needed to leave; this could get very bad, very fast.

"I bet he's back there!" I looked up and froze, one of the girls was pointing right at me. Every single girl's head snapped in my direction at once. There was my cue.

"Jake!" I whispered frantically, running back over to the table. "We have to go **now**." Jake nodded reluctantly and jumped up from the table. Addie and Anne ran up with a few other random employees just as we went to leave.

"I am so sorry, you two." Anne said, regret clearly printed on your face. "I don't know how they found you."

"Don't worry about it, really." Jake replied, reassuring her with a soft pat on the shoulder.

"You guys should probably just take the side door and come back for your car later," Addie said, looking back towards the restaurant for the inevitable mass of Jake's crazy fans. "We'll hold them off for as long as we can, but now would probably be a good time to start running."

"Sounds like a plan", Jake said, glancing back over his shoulder. He gave Addie and Anne a quick kiss on the cheek before grabbing my hand and briskly leading me down the hall.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Six days.. cringe. I'm really sorry about that. I've been so busy lately, and when I did get a chance to work on the story, this chapter was really tough for me to write for some reason. I knew what I wanted to say, but I had trouble thinking of how I wanted to say it. I don't know how happy I am with it, but I hope you guys enjoy it.

I do not deserve all of the reviews you guys gave me for the first few chapters. I didn't expect that many at all, especially at the beginning of a story.. so thank you so much. You guys rock :)

Oh and I know up until People Who use People Jake hadn't met Miley's dad or Jackson, but just pretend he has.

Okay, new chapter time :)

* * *

Because I Am Happy Here

Chapter Four.

As Jake and I quietly crept down the alley way that the side door led to, I couldn't help but laugh at the situation. This whole sneaking around, running from fans thing was new to the Miley side of me. Compared to Jake, I had it really easy. If I wanted to be normal, all I had to do was take off my blonde Hannah wig. Jake really didn't have that option. Even though this whole thing was kind of a hassle, I definitely didn't mind as long as I was with Jake.

When we got about halfway to the end of the alley, we pressed ourselves up against the right wall, slowly inching towards the main street so we could avoid being seen as much as possible.

"I'm really sorry about this Miley", Jake murmured as we slowly made our way down the alley. "I know this whole mess is really inconvenient." I stopped abruptly and turned to Jake, startling him slightly.

"Jake", I said softly and somewhat firmly so I would get the point across. "Stop apologizing, okay? It's all right, I honestly don't mind." Jake nodded, but he still looked a little unsure. I brought the hand that wasn't holding Jake's hand up to his cheek and looked him straight in the eyes. "I'm having a great time Jake", I whispered. "I promise."

Jakes mouth immediately broke into a smile, causing mine to do the same. We stood like that for a few seconds before I brought my hand back down from Jake's soft face and continued to lead him down the alley.

When we were about a foot away from the main street I put my hand up, stopping Jake. I tiptoed to the end of the alley, keeping our fingers interlaced. I took a deep breath and slowly peered around the corner, hoping an empty street was all I would see.

I stopped short, my breath catching in my throat and my eyes growing huge. A decent sized group of girls were in a mad dash right in my direction. Jake, noticing my panicked expression, tugged hard on my hand, pulling me close. We stood pressed up against the wall, my head lying against Jake's chest, his resting on my shoulder. We stayed like that for a few minutes and we waited for the group to run by, hoping that the shadows kept us hidden.

My heart was beating faster than Uncle Earl's after walking up a flight of stairs as the thundering sound of footsteps passed by the alley. But I have to admit – even with the fear of being discovered, I was getting huge butterflies standing so close to Jake. It was kind of exciting really, hiding in the shadows, Jake arms wrapped around me, able to be swarmed by crazy teen girls any moment.

After a few minutes that felt like hours, the last footsteps faded away completely. I pulled away slightly and looked up at Jake. The way the shadows hit the angles of his face, the close distance between us, and the look in his eyes made me want to stay there forever. It sure was easy to get lost in those emerald eyes.

"I think they're gone", Jake whispered, staring just as intently into my eyes as I was his.

"I think you're right", I whispered in reply. We stood there looking into each other's eyes for a little longer before I finally snapped out of my little daze. With an awkward laugh and a slight blush I forced myself to step away. I walked down to the end of the alley and poked my head out, just to make sure the street was empty.

"It's clear", I said, looking back and forth down the street. "But we should probably hide out somewhere for a little while before we walk down the main street. There could still be random girls running around." Jake walked up next to me and nodded, looking up and down the street too.

"But where could we go?" I asked Jake, turning to him. Jake looked around for a second before pointing across the street.

"What about there?" I followed Jake's point across the street to a large gate that was partially covered by overgrown plants.

"Let's check it out", I replied.

After checking one more time for Jake fans we made our way across the street. The rusted iron gate towered high over our heads. Vines covered most of the gate and the surrounding fence, winding around the bars like snakes. Noticing a glimmer of gold on the fence to the right of the gate, I pulled the vines apart revealing a sign.

"Canopy Way Park", I read aloud. Jake pushed on the gate, and thankfully it swung open easily.

The inside of the park wasn't much more kept up than the outside. The place was hardly a park, it mainly consisted of a lane lined with iron street lights and old busted benches. The way the setting sun hit the numerous trees created interesting angled shadows across the path.

Just as I began to wonder why it was called Canopy Way Park, Jake whispered "Look" and pointed upwards as if he was reading my mind. The large trees that lined the walkway grew taller than I expected, their huge branches and leaves stretched all the way across the lane. I immediately smiled; I had always loved roads like this.

"I remember this place", Jake said with realization as he looked around. "I used to come here with my cousins when we were little. It used to be way more taken care of though." He frowned slightly, probably picturing what the park used to be.

"What happened to it?" I asked as we walked past a particularly broken bench.

"I don't know", Jake replied. "It used to be pretty busy, but I guess it got left behind when they opened that massive new park a few blocks away."

Left behind was a bit of an understatement, but there was something about this place. It was disheveled and abandoned, but it was beautiful. It made me feel like Jake and I were the only people in the world, and I liked that.

As Jake and I walked along the pathway, the sun continued to set and the old streetlights began to flicker on. Jake casually slipped his hand into mine as we walked, slowly interlacing our fingers. If anyone else was holding my hand as much as Jake was tonight, I might have been weirded out. But with Jake, it just felt natural... like it's what we were supposed to do. We made our way down the path silently, because talking wasn't really necessary. Jake and I were together again, and I was going to enjoy it.

A slight glimmer of light caught my eye on the right side of the path, in between two of the large trees. I stopped suddenly and veered off towards the glimmer, dragging a confused Jake along on my investigation.

We walked a few feet before finding the source of the silver glimmer – the chains of a pair of swings on a cute little swing set.

"Jake, look!" I exclaimed, shaking his arm. "A swing set!" I always loved swings, but I couldn't remember the last time I was on one. I grinned at Jake and released his hand, running over and practically jumping on the swing. One I got going I looked over a few feet away where Jake was standing, laughing to himself.

"What's so funny Ryan?" I asked, swinging slowly.

"Nothing", Jake said as he walked over to the swing to my left. "You're just cute."

My face immediately broke into a smile. It still blew me away how Jake could say the simplest thing and have it affect me so much.

"Alright Miley", Jake said as he sat down. "Let's kill some time."

With that, the slow swaying of our swings led into a long conversation that was long overdue.

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

After about an hour of mostly talking about Jake's movie, (I had a lot of questions), things got silent. It was officially night time; the last rays of the sun had disappeared a long time ago. Now the only light came from the dim glow of the nearby streetlights. It would probably be safe for us to go ahead and leave the park, but there was something about this place that made me want to stay just a little longer. I felt like Jake and I could truly be alone here, and I liked that.

I closed my eyes and rocked back and forth on my feet, breathing deeply and just taking it all in. I felt Jake stand up from his swing and walk around behind me.

"Enough about me", Jake said as he slowly began to push me on the swing. "What's been going on in your life?"

"Well," I began with a smile, "things haven't changed too much. My dad's still corny, Jackson's still weird, Amber and Ashley are still annoying, and Lilly and Oliver are still oblivious to how perfect they are for each other." Jake laughed, particularly at the last part. I had talked to him about my frustrations with Lilly and Oliver in the few emails we sent right after Jake left.

"Has anything big happened?" Jake asked.

"Jackson got into USC; that was pretty big. Oliver just got a new car; he was super excited about that. Lilly started dressing more like a girl, dresses and makeup and everything." I thought for a second. "That's about it", I finished.

"What about you?" Jake asked, slowing me down a little on the swing. I glanced back at him over my shoulder. "You've told me about everyone else in your life, what about you?"

What about _me_? What could I say about me? 'Well Jake, I was so bummed when you left that I put all of my focus into my secret career as Hannah Montana that you don't know about.' Yeah, that would go over just great.

"I don't know", I said looking down at my feet. "Nothing too special has happened to me. Just finishing up sophomore year, hanging out with Lilly and Oliver at the beach, fighting with Jackson… the usual." Jake nodded and it became silent again. The silence was nice for a little while, but after a few minutes it was getting to be too much. So I decided to say exactly what was on my mind.

"I missed you, you know?" I couldn't help but have a hint of sadness in my voice. Before I could worry about what Jake's response would be, he stopped pushing me and quickly moved so he was standing directly in front of me. I slammed my feet to the ground, trying to slow myself down so I wouldn't knock Jake over. He grasped where my hands were resting on the swing's chains, immediately bringing me to a complete stop, and looked me straight in the eyes. I jumped slightly, a little taken aback, but when I looked into Jakes eyes I could see hints of sadness and regret. I relaxed a little and waited for Jake to speak.

"Miley," he began, "I missed you too. I hated leaving Malibu, but not because of the friends or being close to my family or the beautiful beach, but because it meant that I had to leave you. Even though we didn't get to know each other that well while I was here, I knew in my heart that we would've become something great together if it wasn't for that movie." Jake released his slight grip on my hands and looked away, as if he was… ashamed.

"I can hear sadness in your voice, and I could sense it in the few emails we sent right after I left. I hated that I was the cause of that sadness. I never want to make you sad Miley, ever." He looked back over at me and frowned. "I'm sorry", he finished in a whisper.

I hated that Jake was sad too. Seeing him like this, so regretful and distressed, broke my heart. I wanted to take some of that pain away.

So I did the best thing I could think of. I stood from the swing, took both of Jake's hands in mine, and looked him straight in the eyes. I gave his hands a light squeeze, to reassure him, and then I kissed him.

Jake pulled me closer, wrapping his arms around my waist as I brought mine to rest around his neck. That simple kiss solved everything. It was as if everything was okay, the past was in the past. Jake having to leave didn't matter anymore. The only thing that mattered … was now.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: This isn't the best chapter, in my opinion, and it's way overdue. But, I've had the flu the past few days, so let's just say I haven't really been in a writing mood.

I'm going to go ahead and apologize for the kind of lame band name and the really lame record label name. You'll see what I mean soon, but yeah.. just ignore those bleh names. :)

I'm thinking there's going to be three chapters after this one. If I tried to make it any longer, it would drag on a lot. I already have a lot of stuff planned for my next story though, so you guys should defintely check that out after this one's finished. But I'd love it if you keep reviewing, they make me super happy.. and a happy author equals an awesome story. ;)

* * *

Chapter Five.

As Jake and I walked down the street that was swarmed by Jake fans just a few hours earlier, I couldn't help but feel ecstatic. Not only was Jake back, but we had picked up right where we left off almost immediately. When Jake left, I had no idea what was going to happen when he came back – if he came back at all. I didn't know if it would be awkward between us, or if we would have to start all over with what little relationship we had. But I worried for nothing; it was as if Jake had never left.

We walked silently for a while, just following the road. I had no idea where we were or where we were going, but that was okay. I was perfectly fine with trusting Jake to lead the way.

We reached the main part of town and I began to recognize some of the buildings. This area was almost grid like, with multiple intersecting streets surrounding buildings of different shapes and sizes. Some of the buildings were modern looking, made of concrete with interesting angled sides. Other buildings looked like they were older than the city itself, made of old bricks that looked like they could crumble down at any moment.

I knew that concerts were held in some of these various buildings, ranging from bands that were just under arena status to unknown bands that are always amazing. I had wanted to come down here for concerts for a long time, but I always had some type of Hannah thing that got in the way.

"Which way?" Jake asked, bringing me out of my thoughts. I looked up and saw that we had reached a fork in the road. The back of one of the crumbling-looking buildings was directly in front of us, the road we were on dead ended and branched off to our right and left.

"I don't know", I said, looking down the street both directions. "You pick."

"How about this?" Jake said. He dug around in his jean pocket for a moment before pulling out a quarter. "Heads we go right, tails we go left. We'll just let the coin lead the way until we find something interesting."

"Okay", I said with a smile. Jake flicked his thumb, sending the quarter flying into the air. We both watched as the coin flipped high over our heads before landing back in Jake's hand.

"Tails", I said, looking into Jake's palm at the coin.

"Left it is", Jake replied. And with that, we were on our way.

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

After nine coin flips, four of them leading to dead ends, we turned onto a long street that ran basically straight through the middle of town. This part of town wasn't as choppy, there were fewer streets that branched off of this main road and they were all located towards the far end of the street. Like the rest of the area, the street's buildings varied in age and appearance. Almost all of the restaurants of this area were located on this street, ranging from casual Mexican restaurants to fancy French places. Lilly and Oliver had eaten at several of these restaurants on Oken/Truscott dinner nights, usually after seeing a play at the local theater or visiting one of the few museums in the area. They both raved about a particular ice cream shop that was, in Lily's terms, "the best place EVER". I made a mental note to keep an eye out for it.

"Is this whole walking around and just seeing what we find thing cool with you?" Jake asked. "Usually I just take a girl to a movie premiere or something and she's satisfied, but that's never really that fun. It's kind of like I'm just going to work, you know?" I nodded, understanding more than he could imagine.

"I like how spontaneous tonight is", I replied. "And planning everything out usually doesn't work anyway; something always seems to go wron-" I was interrupted right at the end of my sentence by a piercing shriek – if you want to call it that.

"EEEK!" My head snapped over to my right, my eyes huge with shock. Not a bad kind of shock though, I was mostly presently surprised. After all, I knew that shriek anywhere.

Of all places, my two best friends and their families were eating dinner at an outdoor café _here_.

All of the rest of the Oken/Truscotts were oblivious, used to Lilly's trademark shrieks and squeals over the years. Lilly and Oliver however were staring at me and Jake with their mouths hanging open. Lilly even went as far as pointing at us, with a very shaky arm.

"No way", I said, mostly to myself. I looked over at Jake. "Can you wait here for like, two seconds?" I asked him, nodding back towards my dumfounded friends.

"Of course", he replied.

I smiled at Jake real quick, to thank him, before making my way over to Lilly and Oliver's table.

"Hey guys", I said once I reached the short iron fence that separated the café's tables from the street. "What's up?" I looked around, trying to appear as nonchalant as possible before allowing my gaze to land back on Lilly and Oliver.

"What's up?" Lilly repeated, acting the exact opposite of nonchalant. "Well me and Oliver just finished walking through a museum with our families and now we're eating a late dinner." She looked over at Jake. "What are **you** doing?"

"Well I-" I tried to reply, but Lilly was a little too frantic.

"What I really mean is what happened in the.. five or so ours since we last saw you that brought you downtown with JAKE RYAN?!" She was border line yelling at this point.

"Lilly, calm yourself!" Oliver said, placing a hand over her mouth. Lilly's eyes immediately darted over to Oliver, angrily. "I'm sure Miley has a good explanation to what exactly led to this interesting turn of events." Both of their eyes returned to me.

"Well?" Oliver asked, accompanied by a mumble from Lilly's covered mouth.

"When you guys dropped me off earlier, Jake was waiting for me on my front porch." I explained, unable to control my smile. "He kind of asked me on a date for tonight four months ago right before he left, and he wanted to keep up his offer." A muffled squeal sounded from behind Oliver's hand.

"That's so cool", Lilly said, after she pried Oliver's hand off of her mouth. She gasped. "No wonder you saw Jake everywhere today!" Wow, I didn't even think about that. Ha, I knew it was a sign!

"Are you sure this is a good idea Miley?" Oliver asked quietly, glancing over at Jake. "I mean, we all know how getting involved with Jake turned out last time.."

"I think the donut has a point Miles", Lilly said, receiving a dirty look from Oliver. "You weren't happy during most of short time Jake was here – like when you hated him because he was a jerk and then when you liked him but he always had other girlfriends. And then he had to leave right after things finally worked out with you two. Do you think it's going to different this time?"

These were pretty reasonable points, why hadn't I thought of all that before? I looked back at Jake and smiled; he was casually kicking a rock back and forth between his feet. He looked up at me and smiled, and it was like I just... knew. I didn't have to worry about any of the road blocks that got in the way of Jake and I being together before. We were together now, and I was fully confident that it was going to work.

"You know what?" I said, looking back over at Lilly and Oliver. "I really do. I see something in Jake that wasn't there four months ago. I can't really put my finger on it, but he's different ... better. Yeah Jake leaving was tough on me, but now I honestly think that was what we needed. Like, we weren't really ready for each other yet." I laughed and looked down at my newly painted black fingernails. "I don't know how to explain it, but I have a good feeling about all this."

"Well you definitely look happy", Oliver said. I looked back up at them, unable to control the huge smile that appeared on my face. Lilly and Oliver immediately began smiling too.

"Well we're not going to keep you away from Jake any longer", Lilly said, giggling. "Go!"

"Alright", I said with gratitude. "Thanks guys." I gave them a quick wave and turned back towards Jake, taking a step in his direction. I stopped and turned back real quick, stopping Lilly just as she opened her mouth to speak.

"Yes I'll call you later." I said. Lilly immediately closed her mouth, satisfied. "Both of you", I added looking at Oliver. A quick look of relief appeared on his face, but then he blew it off uttering a quick 'Yeah, that's cool ... whatever.'

I said bye again and made my way back over to Jake. He took my hand in his and waved at Lilly and Oliver, receiving slightly frantic waves in return. It would take them awhile to get over the shock of seeing me with Jake again.

At least it was a good kind of shock.

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

Two coin flips later I heard something that made me stop pretty abruptly. Music. Loud music.

"Do you hear that?" I asked Jake, looking around for the source of the music. I was hoping there'd be a concert going on tonight.

"Hear what?" he asked, looking around too.

"That music. It sounds good." I was starting to get excited.

"It's probably coming from down there", Jake said, pointing down the street at an old building covered with years of graffiti. The door was propped open and a large man was leaning up against the wall next to the door.

"Let's go check it out", I said, eagerly dragging Jake down the street.

"Hey", Jake said once we were standing in front of the man. "Who's playing?"

"Honestly, I'm not quite sure", the man said with a laugh. Despite his tough exterior he seemed friendly, like he was a friend's dad. "Some new band to the area, it's hard to keep up. They call themselves Overdue... something." He directed his ear towards the inside of the building. "They sound good though, don't you think?"

"Yeah, they do", I replied. "Are tickets still on sale?"

"They sure are", the man replied. "Discounted too, since the show's already started." He looked in the building real quick and then leaned towards us slightly. "Technically I'm not supposed to discount the tickets for another ten minutes, but I'll make an exception for you kids." He brought a finger up to his mouth, making a 'shh' noise and laughed.

"Thank you sir", Jake said, laughing too. He paid for the tickets and we made our way inside.

We were immediately surrounded by the loud blast of the music. The place was filled with people, mostly teenagers and college age, but there were a few older couples as well. The inside of the building looked like it was a theater a long time ago. It had multiple balconies full of seats and a large floor for standing room in front of the large stage. The theater had been modernized, with huge amps and multiple lights. All of the walls were covered in partially flaked off paintings of clouds, stars, and trees, probably from back before the theater was changed into a concert venue.

The huge colored lights created a glow over the whole place. Everyone seemed connected with the music; the entire general admission floor almost seemed to be moving as one to the sound of the band. Performing at sold out arenas was exhilarating and everything, but there was something about this setting that was so much more intimate. I decided right then that I wanted to perform at a place like this someday. It was beautiful.

I stood there with Jake for a moment, just taking it all in. I was mad that I had let myself miss out on experiencing these smaller concerts. As I felt the music surround me and I watched all of the people dancing in the general admission section, I realized I wanted to get in there.

Jake apparently had the same idea. He grabbed my hand and we headed for the mass of people. By the time the next song started we managed to push and dodge our way into the center of the group. The band was indie alternative, with beats that were easy to dance to and lyrics that were easy to relate to. They were one of the best bands I'd heard in a while, it was a shame the rest of the country didn't know about them.

I don't know how long Jake and I danced together, but by the time the concert was over, I felt like I was floating on a cloud. Being right there in the center of someone else's concert was new to me, and I loved it. This would definitely become a regular thing for me; I was going to make sure of it.

Jake and I decided it would be best if we waited until the crowd cleared out a little bit before we left. That way we could avoid any chance of ambush by the number of teenage girls that were at the concert. Jake spotted an old friend in the high balcony, so he went up to say hello while I ran to the restroom really quick. On my way out I ran into someone, nearly knocking us both to the ground.

"I am so sorry!" I said, once we both steadied ourselves.

"It's cool", the guy said. "I'm running into people all the time." I looked up, relieved the guy was nice.

"Hey!" I said, realizing who he was. "You're the drummer, right?"

"Yeah", he said with a smile. He extended his hand. "Jaden."

"Miley", I said shaking it. Just then the four other members of the band, (which I found out was called Overdue Apology towards the end of the show), walked up.

"Hey guys," Jaden said, turning to his band mates, "this is Miley. Miley, this is Mason, Brady, Conner, and Landon." He pointed out each person as he named them.

They were all really different. Jaden, the drummer that I ran into, was a bit on the preppy side. He had shaggy light brown hair and he was wearing a green polo, light jeans, and leather flip flops. Mason, the guitarist, was the 'emo' – I guess you could say. He had jet black 'emo hair' with red streaks in it and he wore eyeliner, a band tee, black skinny jeans, and vans. Brady, the bassist, was the wildest dresser of the group. He wore a solid t-shirt, crazy multicolored plaid pants, and bright yellow sneakers. His dark brown hair was gelled up into a spiky faux hawk. Conner, the keyboardist, was the hippy. He had a crazy red curly afro that reminded me of Jake's aunt and cousin's hair. He wore a tie die shirt, ripped jeans, and shoes that looked like he made them himself. And finally Landon, the lead singer, was the sharp dresser of the group. He was wearing a black shirt, black pants, and a crisp white tie and his black hair was short and textured, sticking out in different directions. They were all drastically different, but they definitely made awesome music together.

"You guys were really good", I said, after shaking each of their hands.

"Thanks ", Landon, the lead singer said. "We were pretty pumped, that was our biggest show yet."

"Well it was awesome", I replied. "How long ago did you guys get started?"

"About two years", Conner replied. "We've all been friends for ages but we didn't officially form the band until we graduated high school. We moved here a few months ago from our hometown in Northern California, and we've done pretty good so far. Bigger crowds in this area."

"Are you signed?" I asked, looking around at the group. Their faces fell, as if that was a touchy subject for them.

"We haven't been that lucky", Brady said. "We've been trying to find someone that believed in us and our music enough, but it hasn't happened yet."

"Well," I said, a smile forming on my lips. "I'm kind of in with TennMal Records.."

"Hannah Montana's label?" Mason asked eagerly, interrupting me. We all gave him a weird look; he looked like the last possible person that would know that. "I mean.. that's what I heard", he added, trying (and failing) to shrug off the embarrassment.

"Yeah, Hannah Montana's label." I said with a laugh. "Anyway, they're always looking for fresh, new music and I think Overdue Apology might be what they need."

"Are you serious?!" Landon said, followed by a few similar reactions from the rest of the band.

"I'm completely serious." I said, laughing at how excited they were. "Do you have a CD I can buy so I can bring it to the record people?"

"Buy?" Jaden asked, as if that was the craziest thing in the world. "It's on us; it's the least we can do." Conner ran and got a CD and brought it to me, but not before they wrote down the number to their apartment and their myspace, so we could keep in touch and the record label could contact them.

Once we finished all the details, Jake walked up.

"Dude Jake Ryan, what's up?" Jaden said, extending his hand.

"Hey guys", Jake said, introducing himself to the band. "Awesome show."

"Thanks man," Landon said. "We gotta go pack up all the gear, but we'll catch you guys later, okay?"

"Sure", I said, excited about our new friends. "Bye guys!"

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

"What time is it?" I asked Jake once we were back outside in the warm summer air.

Jake glanced down at his watch. "1:37", he said, casually. "Shit!" He looked at his watch again, his eyes wide. "What time did you need to be home?" He asked, worried.

"Jake calm down", I said, putting my hand on his shoulder. "My dad and Jackson are gone until tomorrow afternoon; I have as much time as we need." Jake smiled, relieved. "How much time do you have?"

"Same", he replied. "My house is always empty."

"Good", I said. "I really didn't feel like going home yet."

We started walking in the direction of the beach, still energized from the concert's atmosphere. I was really excited about discovering a band by myself, and this would be the first band I had ever recommended to the label. I liked being more involved with the company. It was nice.

"Miley", Jake said, bringing me out of my thoughts. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure", I replied, expecting a simple question.

"How are you connected with TennMal Records?"

Crap. Definitely not a simple question.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: I originally planned on making this chapter a little longer, but reached a place that would be a good stopping point and I decided I made you guys wait long enough after that cliffhanger that I just had to update. I feel so bad about going so long between each update, I'm really going to start trying to be better about that. I've just been so busy lately. I'll try to get the next chapter up asap, especially since I waited a long time to give you a pretty short chapter.

But thank you for the reviews again, they make me smile. :)

Chapter 6.

How am I connected with TennMal records? How am I connected with TennMal records?!

Well the obvious answer is that I founded it with my dad because I'm actually Hannah Montana. Not like I could tell Jake that..

I immediately froze, frantically searching my brain for some kind of excuse. But, ask any of my close friends or family and they'll tell you that I'm terrible at coming up with excuses on the spot. Like, for example, the time I planned on breaking a date to a bowling party by telling the guy I was allergic to the rental shoes.

"You heard me talking to the band about that?" I asked quietly, still hoping a good excuse would come into my head.

"Yeah", Jake replied. "Me and my friend were talking in the balcony right over the room you guys were in. I kind of couldn't help but overhear the conversation."

My little attempt at stalling didn't do me any good. The only answer that I could think of that made sense at all was the real answer. My heart sank as I finally accepted what I needed to do.

I had to tell Jake I was Hannah Montana, and I didn't know how he was going to take it.

I took a deep breath. "Well, In order to answer your question" I began, "I have to tell you something pretty big. There's a good chance you're not going to believe me, and honestly I'm not going to be surprised if you don't."

"Okay..", Jake said, with a slight hint of hesitation. He led me over to a sheltered bus stop and we took a seat on the bench.

"I'm connected with TennMal Records because I.." I looked down at my nails, unable to hold Jake's gaze. ".. I founded it with my dad two years ago." I forced myself to look up, to see if Jake could tell where I was going with this.

He couldn't. Jake was studying me, his eyebrows the biggest display of his confusion. I guess I was going to have to spell it out for him.

"Jake", I said quietly, after a final deep breath. "I'm Hannah Montana."

"What?" He looked behind me for a second. "You're Hannah Montana?" Confused, I turned in the direction Jake was looking and was greeted by a larger than life picture of Hannah from the waist up. It was a mini billboard that made up the left side of the bust stop shelter, promoting the new CD. Well that was convenient.

"Well technically I'm Miley Stewart", I continued, turning back to him. "Hannah Montana isn't even a real person. That," I pointed at the poster behind me, "is just a persona I created so I could have all of the perks of fame but still be a normal teenager." Jake sat there for a second, just thinking about the whole thing. Doubt was clearly present on his face.

"You don't believe me, do you?" I said sadly. That was to be expected, but it still hurt.

"It's not that I don't believe you", Jake began. I gave him a look. "Okay, okay. It _is_ a little hard to believe. I mean, it's a lot to take in."

"Yeah, that's the typical reaction I get", I replied. "Jake, you heard me singing when you were waiting on my front porch earlier. Did my voice not sound familiar at all?"

Jake thought for a second. "I don't know. It's hard to tell when I'm not familiar with the song."

"It was new.." I replied. How could I convince him that I was telling the truth? "Okay," I said, sitting up a little straighter. "You've met Hannah twice right? Once when she guest starred on Zombie High and once when you two presented the Teenie Award for best on screen kiss." Jake nodded. "So you had to have some type of conversations with her, right?" He nodded again. "Then ask me something only Hannah Montana would be able to answer."

"Okay", Jake said. He thought for a second. "Hannah had a problem with part of the script. What part?"

"The kiss", I replied without hesitation. "I think it was on page 41.. I joked and said I'd rather kiss demon dog and then I ended up having to." I laughed to myself. "That was really gross." I looked at Jake. He still looked like he wasn't completely convinced.

"Ask me something else", I said simply. I would answer as many questions as he needed. Jake thought for a little bit and I began to get restless.

"Okay how about we forget the questions", I said. Jake nodded in agreement. "After we presented the Teenie, we went backstage and we talked a little bit about how bad I messed up. Then you said you couldn't wait to finish filming the kiss on Zombie High and that you'd have your people call my people." Jake nodded, remembering. "Well you know that blue haired girl that came up, and she was acting all weird about you not knowing her?"

"Yeah", Jake said, picturing it in his head. "She said she homeschooled… in Canada… where the Moose are!" He quoted her, even going as far as putting his hands by his head like antlers.

"Yeah, that was Lilly", I said. We both laughed for a second, but then Jake stopped suddenly and stood up.

"Wait", he said, suddenly stopping my laughter. "This is too weird. You two seem so different. How can you be the same person?" I stood and took Jake's hand.

"Come here", I said, leading him over to the Hannah Montana sign. "Look at her eyes." I gave him a second. "Now look at my eyes." He studied them closely, and I could see some of the doubt that was displayed clearly on his face start to fade away. I sat him back down on the bench.

"Don't let the hair color and the glamorous clothes fool you Jake", I said, walking over to the sign. "It's still me under all that. You just have to look closely." I studied the picture for a second and then copied the pose. "Look closely Jake."

Jake stood and stepped a little closer. He looked at me, at the picture of Hannah, and back at me.

"I can't believe it", he said quietly. "It really is you." I immediately grinned, relieved.

"Yeah", I said just as quietly. "It is."

He laughed. "No wonder Hannah gave such good advice about Miley."

I cringed slightly. "Yeah, sorry about that."

"It's cool", he said.

"You're seriously okay with it?" I asked. "I mean, it changes a lot."

"Well yeah it changes a lot", Jake replied, "but that's not necessarily a bad thing."

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused.

"Well, we have way more in common than I ever realized", Jake replied. "And I'm guessing you being Hannah Montana was the reason you didn't freak out every time you saw me like every other girl at school." He definitely had a point. Me being Hannah Montana is probably the reason Jake and I got together at all.

"So you're not mad or anything?" I asked, a little surprised. "I just really don't want you to resent me for keeping this from you, and I don't want this to change how you see me or anything.."

"Miley", Jake said, placing his hands on my shoulders. "I like you, a lot. And I feel like we have a really good connection, I've felt that way pretty much ever since we met. It was like I couldn't explain it, but there was something strong between us." Jake moved his hands from his shoulders down to take hold of my hands. "This whole Hannah Montana thing doesn't make me think any less of you; it explains what I've felt all along."

Okay, wow. Could Jake seriously be any more perfect? Not only did he handle the whole situation better than anyone, but the feelings he just described were the exact feelings I've been dealing with for the past four months. It's like that was inside me all along, I just didn't know how to put it into words. And let's just say Jake definitely knew how to put it into words.

When I woke up this morning, the last thing I expected was that I would find Jake on my front porch. And I definitely didn't expect that I would end up telling him I was Hannah Montana by the end of the night. I've imagined telling Jake my big secret so many times; it's a usual thing whenever I feel like I'm getting close to someone. I never thought I would reveal my secret this early, and I didn't think I would let myself get into a situation where I had to tell Jake, but now that it's done I'm glad it happened this way. Now I feel like I can be completely myself with Jake, and I feel like there's nothing holding us back now. Wherever Jake and I stand, I'm ready for it. I'm ready to dive right in and be swept away.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Happy late thanksgiving everyone. I am definitely thankful for all of my reviewers, I've already gotten way more reviews than I expected. You're all great.

I hope you like this chapter. For some reason this story is getting harder and harder for me to write, so I really hope it's not getting worse as well. There's only going to be one more chapter after this one, so keep those reviews coming. I'll try to update as soon as possible.

* * *

Chapter Seven.

After the dramatic effects of Jake learning my secret wore off, we decided to head over to the beach. It was almost two by now, and normally I would never stay out this late with a boy. But with Jake I felt totally safe, and I would much rather hang out with him than go home to a big empty house and sleep.

Once we got away from the downtown area the crowds became increasingly clear of people, anyone who hadn't gone home staying back over by the clubs and bars. The farther we walked, the more I felt like Jake and I were alone in the world. I've had that same feeling a lot tonight, and each time it just got better.

I took Jake's hand in mine for what felt like the millionth time that night and slowly interlaced our fingers. I don't consider holding hands that big of a deal, but I've never held a boys hand this much on a date. With Jake, it was almost as if our hands were supposed to be connected. It was like they were both made to fit the other perfectly.

"So Miley," Jake said as we walked, "when you woke up this morning, did you ever think you'd end up walking around to who knows where in the middle of the night with me?"

"No way", I replied, laughing at the fact that I thought about this less than thirty minutes earlier. "But I'm definitely not complaining." I turned to Jake and grinned at him. Jake returned the smile and just as he opened his mouth to speak, a small droplet of water landed on his cheek.

I laughed and unlocked our hands, bringing my hand up to Jake's face and brushing away the droplet. Jake brought his hand up and grazed mine before we both looked up at the sky. The sky was very black, but the huge clouds that had quickly rolled in were clearly visible. Realizing what was about to happen, Jake and I looked at each other with wide eyes. Before we could even think about finding shelter the clouds opened up and the rain poured down.

We were drenched within seconds, but I still instinctively turned to run for cover. I took about one step before Jake grabbed my arm and pulled me back.

"What are you doing?" I yelled over the deafening sound of the pouring rain.

"We're already soaked Miley", Jake yelled back. "We might as well enjoy it!" He grinned at me and took off down the street, his arms outstretched, yelling the whole way. I stood there for a moment, smiling as I watched him zigzag across the road. This was a side of Jake I didn't get a chance to see before he left. He reminded me of me, Lilly, and Oliver when we get all energized and crazy. Jake seemed like a normal teenager, not a celebrity who always had to look civilized and poised. He seemed more real, like he would fit perfectly into my group of friends. It honestly made me like him even more.

I ran over to Jake and jumped on his back. He stumbled forward slightly, a little taken aback, but then he laughed and shifted so he was giving me a piggy back ride. Once Jake was sure I wasn't going to fall off him he ran down the street, spinning and jumping in puddles along the way. We were both laughing hysterically, like we were little kids that pulled on our rain boots and snuck outside because playing in the rain was worth the risk of getting a cold.

We kept playing for a while – running, jumping, yelling, and dancing; basically acting like idiots. It was nice we could be so comfortable around each other so early. Sometimes it took me awhile to be totally myself around a guy, but with Jake it was almost immediate.

After we were pretty much worn out, Jake and I stopped and faced each other. As we looked at each other, the only sound caused by the steady rain, I realized how lucky I was. When Jake had to leave four months ago I felt like we were almost robbed of our chance at something great. But we were given a second chance, and there was no way I wasn't going to take full advantage of that.

Jake took my hands in his and brought them up to rest around his neck. He placed his arms around my waist and we slowly started to dance. I took a step closer, so we were basically hugging as we danced. I closed my eyes and smiled, I didn't think anything about tonight could be going better. It was definitely one of the best nights of my life, and it was even better because I was spending it with Jake, someone I cared about a lot.

I opened my eyes and looked up at Jake. I wanted to thank him; I wanted to let him know how much tonight really meant. So, I stepped back slightly, leaned up, and kissed him. When I thought about it, Jake and I really hadn't known each other that long, but that was okay. I couldn't wait to find out what the rest of the night, and hopefully the many nights to come would bring. As Jake and I kissed, completely soaked and shivering from the cold rain, everything just felt … right. I felt happier and more complete than I had in a very long time.

It was a good feeling.

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

After the rain stopped a few minutes later Jake and I continued to make our way towards the beach. As we walked the street continuously got drier and drier until it looked like there had been no rain at all. I found it strange that such a powerful downpour could've been isolated to such a small area.

The road dead-ended next to what looked like a mini forest of palm trees that extended halfway towards the ocean. As we slipped off our shoes and walked closer, we saw that hammocks were hung in between each pair of trees, creating what looked like an outdoor hammock hotel.

A few of the hammocks were inhabited, probably by people passed out from having a little too much to drink at the few nearby bars. Jake and I walked over to the right side of the little area and picked a hammock that was away from everyone else and close enough to the beach where we could hear the waves crashing on the sand. Jake held the hammock tight for me, letting me sit down before sitting down too. Giggling, we lay down extremely slowly to avoid falling on our butts and making complete fools out of ourselves. Once we were settled we both shifted to our sides so we were facing each other.

"What should we do now?" Jake asked.

"I don't know", I replied. "What else could we talk about?"

Jake laughed. "I have no idea. How about we just play the question game and see if any of the questions lead to a conversation."

"Okay", I said, excited. "I love this game. What rules are we using?"

"How about we take turns asking whatever question we want," he said, "but you have to answer your own question and you have to explain every answer."

"Sounds good", I replied. "You start."

"Okay", he said. He thought for a second. "If you could live anywhere in the world for one year, where'd you live and why?"

"Good question", I said. Jake smiled. "I'm going to have to say Venice", I said after thinking for a minute. "I went there for a few days a couple years ago, but I've always wanted to be able to experience it for a longer period of time."

"Cool", Jake replied. "I'd have to pick New York City. There's just so much going on there all the time, every time I visit I'm always sad to leave." I smiled; New York would've been my second choice.

"Alright," Jake said. "Your turn."

"So you have a really busy life, right?" Jake nodded. "What is one thing you wish you could do, but you don't really have enough time?"

"Draw." Jake answered almost instantly, as if he had thought about this before.

"You draw?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah", he replied. "I'm actually not too bad either." He laughed. "I always try to draw on long plane rides and stuff, but I never really have time to sit down and draw a complete picture."

"That's cool", I replied. "I really respect artists; I can barely draw a stick figure." Jake smiled and squeezed my hand.

"What about you?" he asked.

"I wish I had more time to write some of my own music. My dad writes most of my songs and then I'll add my own twist to it. I just wish I could shut myself up in my room, sit down with my guitar and piano and write a song."

"You should do it Miley", Jake said. "Don't get me wrong, the songs your dad writes are great. But I think you'd get a lot more out of performing if it was something you wrote completely by yourself."

"You're right", I said grinning. "I should do it. And you should draw. It seems like it makes you happy, so make time for it." Jake smiled too.

"I will. And then when we're both done I'll show you my drawing and you can play me your song."

I laughed. "Deal." We shook hands, finalizing our 'deal'. "Your turn."

"Okay so we both now that fame can have its disadvantages, like paparazzi and lack of privacy and stuff", Jake began. "But what's the one thing you consider the biggest advantage to being a celebrity?"

I looked down at the hammock and thought to myself. There were so many things I loved about being Hannah Montana, was it possible for me to pick just one?

"Well", I said, finally making up my mind, "I've always loved music, mostly because I consider music a really good way to connect with people. I think one of the best things about music is that you can be having the absolute worst day ever and then you'll listen to a certain song and feel better because you know at some point someone has been through the exact same thing you're going through. I feel like if my music is able to have that kind of effect on even just one person, I've done what I set out to do."

"Wow", Jake said. "I think the music industry would be way better off if more musicians cared as much as you do."

"Thanks", I said, looking up at Jake from the hammock and blushing slightly. "What about you?"

"Honestly", he began. "I like how much I'm able to help people through my status. There's only so much you can do for charities when you don't have the name and the face to endorse them with you know? I like how involved I can get with it, and how much more I'm able to give."

"Yeah, I know what you mean", I replied. "That's definitely great."

Jake nodded. "Your turn."

I thought for and second and groaned, burying my face in the pillow. "This is getting hard."

Jake laughed. "We can stop", he said.

"No wait!" I cried, bringing my head up really fast. "I got one." I shifted my weight so I was facing him again.

"If you could relive any day from your past, what day would it be?"

"Wow.." he said, thinking. "I'm going to have to say my twelfth birthday party. I had done the diaper commercials by then, but I really didn't get noticed until Teen Bigfoot a few months later. My friends and family were all at the party, and it was really just the last day I remember feeling like a normal kid."

"Good choice", I said, smiling as I pictured a young version of Jake.

"What about you?" he asked.

"Oh yeah", I said quietly. I kind of forgot that I was going to have to answer. "Christmas of fifth grade", I said. "Christmas was always my family's favorite holiday, especially my mom; she practically lived for it. Christmas of fifth grade was the last one before everything stopped being normal, before my mom got sick."

"What was it?" Jake asked quietly.

"Cancer", I replied sadly. "She didn't die until about a year and a half later, but that was the last Christmas she was really herself."

"I'm sorry Miley", Jake whispered. He took my hand in his and brought it up to his mouth, kissing it softly.

"Thanks", I said with a smile. Jake wrapped his arms around me, pulling me close. I rested my head on chest and closed my eyes.

"So I think it's safe to say we're done with the question game?" Jake chuckled.

I opened my eyes and looked up at him. "Unless you have a lot more questions you're just dying to ask."

"Definitely not", he said. I rested my head back on Jake's chest and closed my eyes again. We lay there for a few minutes and the calm wind with the sound of the waves began to make me very tired.

"Are you tired?" Jake asked drowsily. I swear he could read my mind.

"No", I replied, mid-yawn. Jake laughed.

"Do you want me to take you home?" He asked, sounding a little more awake.

"Not really", I replied. I glanced up at him. "I mean, unless you want to go home."

"Nah, I'd rather stay here with you", he said, running his fingers through my still slightly damp hair.

"Good." I smiled and lay my head back down. Jake pushed on the tree behind our hammock to put it in motion and pulled me close. I thought about trying to stay awake, but soon enough the sounds of the ocean combined with the gentle sway of the hammock slowly put me to sleep.

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

The shrill screech of a seagull woke me up a while later. I lifted my head from Jake's chest and rubbed my eyes. After blinking a few times I opened my eyes, seeing that the first rays of the day's light were begging to appear on the horizon. We must have been asleep for a few hours.

I reached for Jake's watch to check the time and saw I was right. It was almost six.

"Jake", I said softly, setting his arm back down by his side. "Jake, wake up." I reached up and put my hands on his cheeks, pushing them together and pulling them apart.

"Jakeeee", I said as I played with his face. "Time to wake uuuuup."

"What are you doing?" He asked, his eyes still closed.

"Trying to wake you up by playing with your face", I replied, matter-of-factly. He grinned and opened his eyes. He reached down and started tickling my stomach. I immediately started laughing hysterically and squirming around, causing the hammock to dangerously rock back and forth. About two seconds later we both tumbled out of the hammock landing with a loud thud.

We were both laughing hysterically at this point, mostly at our own stupidity. I groaned and rolled over so I was halfway lying on Jake.

"Good morning", he said with a smile.

"Good morning", I replied. I gave him a quick kiss before pushing myself up and to my feet. I held a hand out for Jake who took it and stood as well.

"Geeze it's almost six already", Jake said looking down at his watch. "Last night just flew by didn't it?"

"Yeah", I replied. "It didn't help that we were asleep for the past three hours."

Jake laughed. "Good point. So, do you want to take a walk on the beach before we head back to my car? My aunt's restaurant is a little way down the beach anyway and I haven't dipped my feat in the ocean since I left."

"Sounds good", I replied. "Go ahead and go down to the water, I need to call my house and make sure my dad didn't leave any messages." Jake smiled and kissed me on the cheek before making his way towards the ocean.

I quickly dialed my house number and entered the voicemail code, relieved when I didn't hear any frantic messages from my dad wondering why I wasn't answering the phone. Jackson must be keeping him busy; he tended to do that a lot.

I hung up and slid my phone back into the mini pocket in my dress before walking towards the water. I paused for a second at the edge of the cluster of hammocks and leaned up against one of the palm trees. As I watched Jake happily playing in the water, I couldn't help but have a smile on my face as big as Jake's.

I didn't know what Jake was doing here. I didn't know how long he was staying, if he was coming back to school when summer was over, or if he was going to fly off to another random country. All I knew is he was here now, so I decided to take full advantage of every minute with him. And even if he left, I would always have tonight to look back on and remember.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Whoa, fast update (at least for me). Surprised? Me too. I had a rare couple of days where I had plenty of time to write so I thought I'd reward you guys for all the great reviews.

Well here it is, the last chapter. You guys have been so awesome throughout this entire story, so I really hope you're all satisfied with the end. I feel pretty good about it, so hopefully you will too.

I have a lot of stuff planned for my next story already, and I'm ridiculously excited about it. So, I'd really appreciate if you guys would check that one out when I post it, probably later this week. But enough author blabbing, on to the conclusion of the story. :)

* * *

Chapter Eight.

When I walked over to Jake the sun was just starting to appear over the ocean. I generally preferred sunsets over sunrises. On the rare occasion that I actually managed to see a sunrise, (I was far from being a morning person), I always found them a little washed out looking compared to sunsets.

This sunrise was different. The colors were drastically vibrant, sticking out from each other and blending perfectly together at the same time. The purples, oranges, yellows, and reds were stunning, as if the vivid display of color was night time's way of going out with a bang. It was a scene that even the most beautiful masterpiece of a painting would pale in comparison to.

"Wow", Jake said breathlessly.

"I know", I replied, just as breathless.

We stood there together, admiring the sunrise until it was entirely finished and the sky was completely blue. I had a feeling I wouldn't see a sunrise that breathtaking again for awhile, and I wanted to remember it. It was as if the sunrise was the perfect ending to a perfect night.

I suddenly got sad when I realized that tonight was about to be over. Everything was going so well so far; it sucked that tonight had to just stop right in the middle of being great.

"You ready?" Jake asked a few minutes after it was safe to say the sunrise was over. Ready? Not so much.

"Sure", I said, even though it was kind of a lie. "Let's go."

Jake took my hand and we slowly began making our way down the beach.

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

When Jake and I made it back to his aunt's restaurant around seven, what looked like a huge car-shaped pile of post it notes sat where Jake's car used to be.

"Geeze" Jake said, walking up to the car. He peeled off one of the countless post its and read it, immediately laughing.

"What is it?" I asked stepping closer. Jake handed me the post it and started clearing them off of the rest of his windshield. The post it was covered with quickly drawn hearts and a short little message: 'Omg Jake I love you so much! Call me anytime!' followed by the girl's number. As I looked around at the sea of post its that had swallowed Jake's car, I saw that basically all of them had a similar message; a girl proclaiming her love for Jake and then giving him her number, or email, or myspace. It was hilarious, in a slightly creepy way.

"Has this happened a lot?" I asked, helping Jake peel off the post its from the windows.

"Just a few times", he replied. "I usually do a better job at keeping my car hidden. This is the first time it was all post its though." Jake unlocked his car and opened the trunk pulling out a large, halfway full garbage bag.

"You can just put all of the post its in here", he said, setting it on the roof of the car. "I'll figure out what I'm going to do with all of them eventually." I went to drop off the mound of post its I had already removed to find that the bag was filled with even more post its and other random pieces of paper.

"Wow Jake", I said, laughing as I shifted through all of the paper. "You definitely have devoted fans."

"Yeah I do", he said and he pulled off a huge chunk of post its. "I feel kind of lame for keeping them all, but I just can't seem to throw them away."

"I think it's sweet", I replied, peeling off chunks of post its. "And I bet these girls would just die if they knew you drove around with their little love notes in your trunk all the time."

"Yeah", he said laughing. "Where do they get all the post it notes though, there's so many!"

"Jake", I said with a smile. "You'd be surprised at all of the random crap girls carry in their purses. We have practically everything in there."

"So that's why they're so huge", Jake said, flashing me a grin.

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

Once we finished clearing the windows about thirty minutes later we put the now almost full trash bag back in the trunk and started driving towards my house.

The car ride was pretty silent, kind of like the car ride from more than twelve hours before. This time though, we weren't silent because we had no idea what to say, but because we had talked so much we really didn't have much else we could say.

As I sat there watching the scenery pass me by, I began to feel sad. Not too long ago I was completely satisfied with tonight. I felt happy and carefree because I was with Jake and we were having a great time. Up until now, that was all that mattered.

But in this silence some emptiness began to sink in. Besides seeing Lilly and Oliver for a few minutes, tonight with Jake felt almost separate from the world. It was almost like a dream, nothing else mattered except the fact that we were together.

But what happened when I woke up? The night was almost over, and I was going to have to face the reality of what really was going on with me and Jake sooner or later... whether I liked it or not.

Before I knew it Jake was pulling into my driveway. I immediately frowned, feeling like that had been the shortest car ride ever. Jake put the car in park and reached for the key, the gloomy expression on his face matching mine. Jake came around and opened my door, holding out a hand and helping me out. All of our movements were painfully slow, as if we both wanted to prolong the date as long as we possibly could.

Jake took my hand as he walked me to the door, but this time I didn't feel butterflies from Jake holding my hand, I felt sad because I knew pretty soon I was going to have to let it go. We stopped in front of the front door and I began looking for my keys. Of course, this time I found them instantly in my mess of a purse.

"So", I said, pulling the keys out of my purse and returning it to my shoulder.

"So", Jake said, with a bummed look on his face.

"I had a really great time", I said, forcing a smile.

"Yeah me too", he replied, smiling as well. "Thanks for coming with me."

"Thanks for coming back", I replied. We stood there for a second in silence before I began to get fed up with it.

"Oh just come here", Jake said, fed up too. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close, resting his head on my shoulder. We stood there together for a while, neither of us wanting to let the other go. Finally we pulled away, and I took Jake's hands in mine.

"Thank you", I said softly. "Last night really meant a lot to me." Jake tilted up my chin and kissed me gently.

"I wouldn't have wanted to spend it any other way."

Jake kissed me one more time before releasing my hands and walking down the front porch steps. I turned and reluctantly went to unlock the door. The lock clicked open and I pushed on the door, fully prepared to sulk up to my room and sleep off how miserable I was feeling.

But as I took one step through the door something just clicked. I had all of these questions concerning Jake swimming in my head. Why was I tearing myself up over how unsure I was rather than just asking the questions out loud to the only person who could really answer them? I was never one to avoid confrontation, why start now?

"Jake", I said, twirling around and walking towards him. I stopped at the bottom step and Jake stopped and turned. He was only a few feet away from the steps, probably due to him walking extra slowly. "I don't want to be annoying or anything, but I really need to get something off of my chest."

"All right", Jake said. "Go for it."

"Okay", I said. I took a deep breath before continuing. "What exactly is this?" I pointed back and forth between the two of us. "I mean I know you asked me on a date fourth months ago, but what does this whole situation really mean? Don't get me wrong, I had so much fun and I'm going to remember this date for a very long time. I just feel like last night was a nice little break from the world, but now I need to know what exactly is going on."

"That makes sense", Jake said. "What do you want to know?"

"What are you really doing here?" I said. "Are you back for good or are you just going to have to fly off to another far away country? Because, I honestly don't know if I could take going through that twice." Jake's face fell, his eyes immediately displaying sadness. He went to speak but I found my mouth had run away from me.

"I think we go well together Jake", I said, unable to stop my thoughts from pouring out of my mouth. "And I think if certain situations were a little different a few months ago, we could have had something really great. I feel like we were almost robbed of our chance, you know?" I finally forced myself to stop talking, silently cursing myself for getting into a typical 'Miley rant' in the first place.

Jake walked forward until he was standing just in front of me one step below. I looked down the short distance to Jake's eyes and waited for him to speak, unable to help feeling nervous.

"Miley, I _know_ we could have had something great together", Jake said, looking me straight in the eyes. "The fact that I had to leave just sucked it general. I really beat myself over leaving you, even if it was something I had to do. It took a lot for us to finally admit our feelings for each other, and right when we did I had to leave. But now, I kind of think we just weren't ready for each other yet." I raised my eyebrows slightly, I hadn't thought of that before. "I mean, I think I've grown a lot in the past few months. Maybe we both just needed that time to figure ourselves out before we could be completely happy together. Now I really feel like I know what I want to do with my life and I know who I want to be." Jake took both of my hands in his.

"And now I know", he said, his eyes almost piercing mine, "what I want more than_ anything_ is to be with you. I want the second chance we deserve." I immediately smiled. It was a smile of relief, joy, but most of all excitement that Jake and I felt the exact same way.

"I want that too Jake", I said, squeezing his hands and grinning like an idiot.

"Good", he said, flashing a grin as big as mine. "Because I'm not going anywhere, and I'm ready to do this. We're going to make it work this time."

"Yeah", I said. "And it's going to be great."

"You're damn right it is", Jake replied with a laugh. He held out his arms and I immediately jumped into them, giggling and hugging Jake as he spun us around.

Jake stopped and set me back on the ground. We looked into each other's eyes and I finally felt complete. I never realized how incomplete I was without Jake until he was a part of me again. All of the sudden, everything was right. Everything was perfect. Everything was exactly as it was supposed to be.

Jake leaned down and kissed me more passionately than even the best movie kiss. That kiss was a perfect explanation of our feelings for each other. It was a kiss of what we almost had before, what we have now, and what was to come. It was a kiss of second chances and new beginnings.

I was ready, and I couldn't wait.


End file.
